


ARCA

by SeikerHikaru



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 09:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22847578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeikerHikaru/pseuds/SeikerHikaru
Summary: "When shadows of the past gather, some would chose to run. These shadows must not be feared. Face them head on, push forward no matter the trials, for if you wish to truly move forward, the past must be faced and acknowledged in the present. Only then can one grasp their future with both hands, when the trials of the present from the past have finally been faced." A story of those who find their futures influenced by dark pasts, who when the inevitable catches up to them are forced to face those trials. One who forgot, one who wants to forgot, one who won't forget, and one who cannot forget. Four young men who have all set themselves onto the path of Huntsman, and who's paths will intersect with many more for both good and ill on paths to keep a hold of their future, even when shadows of the past try to pull them back.





	1. Azure

_“They say you die a hero or live long enough to become the villain. But what if the inverse was also true? Either you die the villain, or live long enough to become the hero. So keep on going, press forward, and break your chains in order to claim a brighter future made by your own two hands.”_

* * *

His mind was racing in absolute confusion as his heavy feet dragged along the ground. The sound of scraping was present in his ears, his right hand loosely clutching to a damaged sword as his arm hung down, the blade dragging along the concrete with each step. The place that hurt the most on his bruised, cut, and bloody body though, was just at his right eye. He couldn’t see out of it because the cut that hit the eyelid was causing blood to seep into it, and marring the pale skin of his face on the right side red, matting his gradated dark blue hair there onto his cheek. His open left eye, showing behind the waving strand of hair was a shining silver, darting around in tune to his jumbled and confused mind.

What had happened to the boy before now hadn’t helped this confusion. If anything, it had only been worse. Names… all he could remember right now were names. Salem, Ashe, Cinder… Azure Aquarion. The last one stuck out to him the most… it felt strong to him, important. Was it his name? It had to be. Amid the mess that was all he could make sense of right now. The only thing that was solid amid the onrush of information in his mind were those names, the sounds of clashing weapons, and the panic he still held.

_“You can run now, but when I find you again, I promise… you won’t have a choice anymore! You’ll realize who’s side you should be on soon enough!”_

The image he flashed to was blurry, hard for him to make sense of. He could remember the steel of the sword sparking against his own, and bright amber eyes behind black hair glaring at him from so close up they were all he could see.

It was then that his legs finally gave way. The weapon in his loose grip clattered to the ground as he finally fell. He barely managed to keep himself from faceplanting, but his tired, weak arms barely helped, instead only making sure he didn’t fall so hard he broke his nose. He was at least able to turn onto his back, but not like it helped.

“Can’t… move…” The words struggled their way out of his mouth, the sour taste of blood in his mouth as his lips finally parted. His open eye shifted as he angled his head, his gaze falling to the moon above. He didn’t know the date, but he could easily tell it was late. But… that was the strange part.

What _was_ the date? There was this gap in his mind… when he pulled up his arm, it was the grown, slender limb of a teenager… but his mind pulled to otherwise. He could hardly recall it but something was wrong… what was the last thing he could recall before that fight?

He’d been taken somewhere… someplace dark, and there was a woman, a terrifying one, but her voice had been warm… unsettlingly so. Something… she’d said something to him.

_“Do not be afraid child… you’ll see the truth soon enough. I just need to do a little…_ convincing _to your young mind.”_

Then it just became pain, like something deep inside of him was being pulled away and broken… then it all just went black. It had become like a dream, one with only a few moments of lucid thought where it seemed like things had made sense… but as soon as they had, something had grabbed hold of him, a shadow that pulled him back into senseless, timeless thought.

But then… there’d been a thread of white in front of him. A thread that had grown and expanded into a flash of silver that cast away the shadow, that made his mind clear.

_“What… what’s going on?! Where I am I?!”_

It had been desperation. He didn’t know how to react, and he’d had a weapon in his hands. His first impulse had been to defend himself, no, more accurately, to attack what seemed like an opponent who had been in front of him.

_“Ashe you… you’d actually betray me!?”_

_“That’s not my name! It’s… it’s not my name!”_

“My name is… my name is…”

A pain groan left his throat as he rolled back over, forcing himself up as much as he could, his right hand grabbing at the fallen sword to his side, driving it onto the concrete as a crutch to push himself up. But, the blade’s tip then only tilted forward, a screeching sound cutting the air as the blade slipped forward, the boy falling to the ground again as he lost the weight to prop himself up on.

“Dammit… not here I can’t… I can’t stop here… not until I…”

His arms gave way as he tried to force himself up again, sparks of pain shooting up his arms as he felt sharp, unpleasant _cracks_ at his fingers, a warm feeling of blood welling at his fingertips. He must’ve cracked his fingernails doing that.

He was also exhausted though, enough he felt his open eye starting to go heavy as his vision went darker.

“What the… hey, you alright?!”

Ah, a voice… it was dull in his ears and sounded faint, but he could see the person running towards him. The voice was familiar to him, somehow, he couldn’t remember why at the moment. After the person reached him, he felt hands gently grab him and roll him over, but aside from being able to tell it was a man, he couldn’t make out their face that well.

“What the, are you… you’re Azure! No way… crap, I’ll call Cyan later. I need to get you to a hospital. Hey, kid, stay with me!”

“I’m… I’m okay… just, tired…” The boy forced the words out, though he already felt himself slipping away as he was lifted off of the ground.

* * *

His eye snapped open in a sudden shock, and he shot upright instantly, feeling cold sweat on his brow. Despite the confusion still wracking his mind though, things became clear quickly enough. From the soft feeling below him, he knew he was one a bed. A quick look around revealed he was in a hospital room. A curtain to his left obscured the opposite side of the room, and the sun was shining in through the window to his right. He had to move quite a bit to actually _see_ to his right though, and his hand went up to the bandages wrapping around his head and covering his right eye. There was even more wrapped around his arms, and on his chest, just visible below the hospital gown covering his body.

Impulse told him he should get up to see what was going on. Reason told him not to. He picked reason.

Instead drawing back to the curtain, it showed he was alone in the room, for now at least. His left arm had patches on it, hooked up to a beeping heart monitor. He grabbed the wires and pulled them off, ignoring the monitor flatlining, yanking it over and shutting the thing off.

“Okay just… stay calm, and think.” He let out a breath as he flexed his right fingers while holding that hand’s wrist in his left hand. “Okay okay… so, it was like I woke up from some weird dream and… and then I got into a fight with… with some person named Cinder… wait, what’s with my voice?! When did it get deep like this?!”

That feeling of panic settled in again, and he scrambled to the side, his still weak legs causing him to fall flat to the floor as he tried to get off the bed too quickly. Holding his head as he pulled on the stand near the bed to get himself standing full, that was the _first_ thing he realized, was how much taller he was. As he looked down at his body, he realized he _hadn’t_ been seeing things. There was a glint out of the corner of his left eye, and he scrambled to the stand to see that a hand mirror was sitting on it. Odd thing to have in a hospital room but right now it was like a godsend.

There was some hesitation to it, but, he grabbed the mirror quickly. He was slow about it as he raised it up, but eventually his face came into full view, and his uncovered eye went wide in shock. For a brief moment, he saw the face he _remembered,_ a young one, barely even eleven years old… but then it properly showed.

Looking back at him was a teenager whose expression was scared and confused. Still bearing some of the androgyny of childhood in the thin features he had, while hair that reached his shoulders shrouded other parts, the color of it a deep blue that gradated to a paler shade at the tips. Skin as pale as snow, and while his right eye was covered by bandages, the other was clearly visible, bright silver and with a sharp shape, having a little beauty mark at its bottom corner.

“What?!” After it had all processed, he reeled back, the mirror flying from his hands as he jumped back, the sound of cracking glass accompanying the _thud_ that came with the boy landing on the floor, his breathing shallow and rapid. He crept back over to the now cracked mirror as he felt his heart pounding in his chest, and the image hadn’t changed even with the shattered reflection it now had. “That’s… that’s me?! When did… I don’t… why don’t I remember anything past that?!”

Azure clutched his head as his attempt made his head start to throb, blurry ideas passing through like a whirlwind, but nothing clear came to mind at all. It passed as soon as it began, but all it did was leave him even more confused than before. When he heard the door slide open, the boy instinctively dove around to the other side of the bed, cautiously peering up to see who was there.

“Ugh, come on kid, there’s no need to be _that_ paranoid.” A gravelly, tired sounding voice… the same one Azure had heard before passing out… but now, now he recognized it, it was actually familiar.

“… Qrow?”

“Ah, good, you do remember me. Heh, hey there kid, been a while. Looks like you’re holding up okay.”

“W…what’s going on?”

“I could be asking you the same thing.” The teenager stood up slowly as the man took a chair, the disheveled man called Qrow leaning on a hand as the bandaged-up teen stared at him. “Though I’m sure you’ve got as many questions to ask as me, considering it _has_ been five years.”

“Five… five years?! H-How?!”

“Okay kid, relax for a moment and don’t go freaking out on me. Let’s start off easy. So now, what do you remember?”

“Well… my name is Azure… Azure Aquarion. And…”

* * *

**_One year later…_ **

It was the twilight in the city of Vale, and deep into the old district of the city, where none went at this time and abandoned buildings had long since become the dens of those keeping under the eye of the law, a sole figure was moving across the rooftops, coming to a stop across from a building with lights on, that by no means _should_ have had lights on.

“Well well, Spanner’s info is as accurate as always.”

The figure chuckled and with a small press as their hand slid under the hood of his coat, goggles flickered on into a blue gleam as he went prone at the lip of the building he was on, scanning the exterior of the lit building, another press changing the mode of the goggles from low-light to thermal vision, letting him see the moving bodies within the walls. Though the display also glitched out for a moment. Azure smacked the device a couple times, and it went back to how he wanted.

“Hmm… pretty vague from over here but let’s see… six, maybe eight guys? There might be more where I can’t see them.”

Another press turned the goggles off, and while pulling them up, the individual smoothly made his way down to the streets, the street light illuminating his form as he lowered his hood, revealing the face of Azure behind its shadow.

The past year had left quite a bit on him when it came to his appearence. The scar over his right eye had healed well enough it was little more than a barely noticeable mark only seen by the nick in his eyebrow without close observation, running from the upper right of the forehead to the cheekbone. His previous wild and long hair was cut shorter in some places but kept long in others, particularly in a long bit that sat over his left shoulder, while some portions of his bangs hung longer near his right eye than the left, everything else in messy, finger combed layers, really only kept pressed down by the black framed goggles being on his head.

He was clothed in a half zipped-up dark blue hooded jacket, a single, small spaulder worked onto the left shoulder, and sleeves that left his forearms exposed, while his hands were covered with fingerless gloves. A dark grey half-cape the same shade as the shirt under the jacket came down from his left shoulder, connected at the spaulder. At his waist, a dark red double-bandolier, marked in a metal, jagged symbol like an arrowhead at the skewed “buckle”, that all sat over black pants with light armor on the knees, the pants tucked into black military style boots tightly laced up, but seemingly of a lighter make than the norm. And hanging from the bandolier were two objects, one a holster containing an unseen but folded up weapon, while crossed over that was a dark-blue, metal structure of some kind barely the size of his forearm, and jutting from that, the visible hilt of another weapon that was black and marked in blue, and both the leather holster and metal device were marked by the same arrow-head symbol that was on his belt.

“So how to make my entrance? There should be a back entrance. Is the fire escape intact?” Azure’s mumbling was cut off by a ringing. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out his dark blue Scroll, he pulled the closed device open, sighing a bit as he saw the number on its screen, even as he answered and brought it to his ear. “Hey Qrow, what’s the deal?”

_“Just checking in kid. So, you at the spot Spanner said to go to?”_

“Seedy building in the old town district, yeup. Lights are on, just like he said they’d be. I’m gonna sneak in, I’ll call you back when I’m done.”

_“Just try to make it back to Signal before curfew. I don’t want Tai on my ass again because you spent too long wandering around. Remember, I’m only allowing you to do this stuff because I know you can handle it.”_

“Ah don’t worry, I’ll be quick.” Azure hung up with that remark, pulling his hood back up before dashing across the street and into the alley at the building’s right. As he’d hoped, when he went to the back, the fire escape was well and intact, if clearly in need of some serious maintenance that it would definitely not be receiving.

Eschewing going in through any of the lower doors, Azure took the steps up to the topmost door of the building, slowly opening it and peering in, seeing nothing but crates stacked up across the area. Creeping in and quietly closing the door, he crouched down and took cover behind the crates as he slid across them to the edge of the upper struts.

“Hm, must’ve been a storage building.” Sliding down to a prone position again, Azure could clearly see that, below him, his initial guess was close, but not quite _that_ close. There were a dozen men wandering around on the lower parts of the building, moving between the other walkways or milling around at the tables stacked with clearly ill-gotten gains. But what caught Azure’s eyes was the map near two of the men. Placing his goggles back on, he used them to zoom in on the map. “Map of Vale. Let’s see… each of those marks cover… Dust shops, the docks, scribbles over the police precincts… yeup, definitely Torchwick.”

Hearing footsteps beginning to near him, Azure smirked as he swept his goggles up off of his face, quietly moving back to a more advantageous spot, waiting until he saw the thug come into view and pass him, a smirk coming to his face as his hands went to the stowed away weapons at his waist.

“Show time.”

For the men below, what they heard first for the signs of trouble greeting them was the sounds of breaking wood, and the man above being slammed into the railing of the topmost level before he was sent flying off and to the bottom by a solid kick. Azure stood where the man had been kicked down from, setting his right hand weapon across his shoulder while the other was loosely held as he leaned on the bent railing. In his right hand, a single edged sword with a blue body and black edge, bearing no guard at its hilt but with notable exhaust ports along the spine. While in his left, another blade of similar length to the first, the blade silver in color while a dark blue mechanical frame marked the lower segment of the weapon, and at Azure’s index finger on the equally mechanical hilt sat a trigger.

“Well now that leaves eleven. So, hands up! Who wants to just save the trouble and tell me what Torchwick is up to huh?”

His reply was to have every weapon in the building being pointed at him. Azure sighed as he stepped back from the rail and behind cover as bullets began flying, a flick of his wrist causing his left-hand sword to change. The lower frame folded out, and the blade pulled back while the grip went to an angle, converting it from a blade into a gun, Azure tucking his other sword under his arm as he reached to his bandolier and then shoved a clip into the gun’s side.

“Hard way it is!”

A flicker of white light appeared at Azure’s left eye as he snickered. Once the rain of bullets ceased, he shot out and jumped over the railing, flipping his right-hand sword into a reversed hold as he aimed with his firearm. The weapon was swept through the air as he descended, forcing the men below to dive to cover of their own amid the hail of bullets. Azure landed heavily on one of the tables, using the momentum that leaned it upwards to jump back, a burst of white feather shaped drifts following the motion as he shot towards one of the thugs, tripping the man as he skid across the floor before slashing down with his sword, a gleam of white energy pulsing across the blade as he brought it down.

Though since it was still ten on one, weapons had been reloaded and were ready to fire again. Azure knew this was coming though. A shimmer of white flickered across his form for a moment, then he took his sword and shoved it into the ground at his feet as white pulses shot across it, those pulses then turning into a dome of light that stopped every bullet that crashed into it, though cracks quickly began shooting across it, and Azure dove behind the metal crates that were nearby as it broke.

“Shit! Still not that good with that one. Well… I’m even worse with this next one, but, it’ll work at the least!” Azure let out a breath, another shimmer going across him. He then changed his firearm back into it’s sword mode, and pressed a switch on the hilt of his other sword, a slot opening on the spine, which he then shoved a blue colored cartridge into, slapping it shut, the edge of the sword changing to match the cartridge that had been inserted while the air around the blade began to grow cold, mist rising from the weapon, while the other sword gained flickers of blue flames across its edge when Azure grabbed it again.

Once the hail of bullets finally stopped again, Azure leapt out. He took the brief moment to count… four to the left, five to the right, and one directly in front of him. His swords followed suit on the slashes that came from them. From his right sword, a wave of ice that shot uncontrollably forward, catching three of the thugs in its path as they yelled, the ice climbing up the wall. From his left sword, following up the previous slash, a blaze was let out from the blade, dispersing the four to the right in the torrent of fire. Azure slid under one of the tables and to some that had been overturned, that white shimmer going over his body again before he shot back up.

First, he ducked back behind the wall of ice that had been made. One of the frozen thugs was still able to draw his weapon, attempting to fire it, but Azure slammed him with his left sword, a ring sounding through the air as he pulled the trigger, knocking the thug free of the ice but leaving him on the ground in a heap. The other two trapped thugs became quick stepping stones for Azure, using kicks to knock them out as he leapt towards the other two, dodging the attempted slash from one’s blade, his body flickering away for a moment before he appeared again behind the other. Both wemt down as he slashed with his right sword, a wave of frozen air coming from the blade and sticking them to the wall. He used the sword again to create a wall of ice when the rest of the men tried firing on him, flicking his left sword back into gun form, his body shimmering again and lacing the weapon with sparks of electricity.

Each bullet that was fired as he shot back out was like small bolt of lightning. The thugs who were hit by them were quickly sent to the ground in spasms, now leaving just the one. Azure put his firearm over his shoulder as he turned to look at the snarling man with a smirk on his face, shadows dancing across his face from the still lit flames in the room, which somehow weren’t spreading.

“The hell?! You’re just a kid, how the hell can you do something like this!?” The thug shouted, brandishing a large axe for a weapon, Azure waving a hand and quelling the blue flames, then turning to the man as he stepped down onto the main floor.

“To tell ya’ the truth I’m not as well practiced with my Semblance as I’d like to be… but there’s no time for me to explain that. So, mind telling me where your boss is?”

“Tch… fuck you!”

“Thought so.”

When the man changed and swung, Azure stepped to the side with a quick move, his body shimmering again as he ejected the cartridge in his right sword, returning it to it’s neutral state, while also kicking the axe-wielder away to give himself room, changing his firearm to the sword again, taking a stance with both weapons, the blades crossed over one another.

The thug snarled at Azure as he readied his weapon again, swinging it wildly in an effort to hit the nimble teenager, who ducked or dodged each slash as it came at him… until one seemed too short. The thug smirked as it looked like the axe as about to hit, but the look faltered because Azure’s expression only grew to a smarmy look, as the man had _finally_ noticed it. During all of the dodging, Azure’s left arm had donned a slender shield that went up the length of his left arm, and the component that had been above his other weapon’s holster was notably missing.

The axe head slammed into the shield, sparks flying through the air as the edge screamed across the metal. Azure took the opening as the axe slammed into the floor, shouldering the thug to the ground and taking a leap into the air, bringing both of his swords down on his opponent, a sound coming from the man’s throat before he went limp. Not dead, just totally unconscious like the others… hopefully in some cases at least.

“And that’s that.” Azure let out a sigh as he spun his left sword, the weapon folding up into it’s firearm form and then _that_ closing into a more compact, rectangular shape he slid into its holster, while the shield on his arm closed back into the blocky component from before, a slot opening on it that, as his right sword folded inward into it’s own compact form, was quickly filled by the other weapon and attached back to his belt. “Now, as for that map.”

Taking out his Scroll, Azure approached the map and took a picture of it, immediately sending the image out with a message attached to it. And like that, he was called, again, by Qrow.

“So, whaddya think? Torchwick’s marked every Dust shop across Vale, and from the looks of it…” Azure stepped over a few of the thugs as he approached a crate, opening it to reveal _dozens_ of Dust crystals of every color there was. “… they’ve already gotten started. Question is though…”

_“Why the hell would some thug like Torchwick need that much Dust? Sure, his outfit is kinda notorious, but this is just weird. Whatever… Spanner wanted this checked out, so hey. Maybe the tricky bastard will finally say what’s going on.”_

“Yeah hopefully. He wanted a cut of the Dust if I remember the memo. So, I should hold off on calling the cops for a bit, right?”

_“Spanner has the cops in his pocket like he does the crime groups. He’ll get his cut even if the cops all get it. So don’t worry about it… now I think you’ve got a curfew to keep kid. Teacher to student on this one.”_

“Ugh, yeah yeah. I’ll meet ya’ in the classroom when I get back.” Azure sighed as he hung up, though before he could pocket the device, it began ringing again, and he raised a brow when he checked. “Ruby? Why the heck is she calling me?” and _that_ was when he remembered something, his face going straight to shocked. “SHIT! I totally forgot because this job came in!”

Hastily answering as he shot out into the streets, Azure was _immediately_ met with a girl’s irritated whining.

_“Azure where the heck are you?! Did you forget about the Haven’s & Huntsman session?!”_

“Uh… well honestly speaking yes.” Azure said, the girl on the end of the line giving an unamused sound. “Look I just got caught up with something alright? Argent was able to hold off yeah?”

_“Of course he was, but Cin is about ready to walk out because we’ve had to wait… no wait, Cin no don’t go I have him on the phone now!... yes I know we had to wait an hour but c’mon, a little longer, please! Ah… Argent don’t grab my Scroll!”_

_“HEYYYYY!”_ Azure had to pull the Scroll away from his ear as a loud boy’s voice came across next. _“The heck ya’ doing Azure?! Don’t make the GM wait any longer dude! I don’t wanna come up with some stupid reason to hold off your character while we’re starting the final chapter of the campaign!”_

_“Give me that!”_ Ruby’s voice again, and Azure just gave a chuckle as he sighed, a hand on the back of his head.

“Yeah, sorry guys. Don’t worry, I’m not that far away from Signal, I’ll be back pretty quick if I hustle. Just uh… need to stop by the classroom once I’m back since Qrow needs me for something.”

_“He’s not asking you to drag his ass out of there is he?”_ A mellow sounding voice was what he heard next. _“Cause sometimes he gets sloshed after classes. I’d know.”_

_“Cin don’t hijack my Scroll too!”_

“Ahaha, no Cin he’s not. Just uh… those private lessons again. We’re doing a recap.” Azure answered, snickering as he heard the background chatter. Ruby’s hand must have gone over the microphone. “So hey, is Yang gonna be in the session again, or is she flaking to make sure her other friends don’t find out?”

_“The latter.”_ Ruby said, giving a sigh. _“She gets so into it too… but then again she’s friends with_ those _people. Ugh. She’s good otherwise!”_

“Ahehahaha… yeah I guess your sister isn’t the best at picking friends at times.” Azure chuckled, Ruby just muttering. “Alright, just hang tight. I’m about to start hoofing it.”

_“Get here quick!”_ Argent shouted over things, Azure chuckling as he hung up, then ascending to the roof tops.

“Oh don’t worry, I will.” Azure’s body shimmered again, and when he stepped off the roof, it came with a flash of white, the teen then reappearing two rooftops over, repeating the process as he went from rooftop to rooftop, and totally ignoring the sounds of the police sirens now rushing towards the place he’d just been at. Though along the way, Azure came to a stop along the rooftops, looking up to the now visible, broken moon of Remnant, a hand coming up to cover his scar. “A year… I’ve been searching for a year now, and nothing. But, I can feel it, I’m close… I have to be. Finding out what I can’t remember anymore… I have to be close to finding those answers.”


	2. Rowan

_Sometimes it takes a simple, small soul to prevail over things. But, there are also times were a bolder, larger soul is needed to overcome larger hardships. But, beware of the beast within, for if you do not tame it, it shall consume you whole and full. And there will be no going back…_

The same… day after day after day. Test after test, trial after trial, fight after fight after fight. Did these “professors” know how to do anything else but constantly run him through these tests? These annoyed thoughts stuck in the teenagers mind as he fiddled with the gloves over his hands, emerald eyes peering out from a fringe of crimson hair, looking to the men in lab coats just outside the place he was waiting in. Even if it was an entire chamber away, across a stark room of nothing but white walls, he could clearly see the two men looking down from above.

How long had it been since that day? Things had just blurred together since then. If he thought back on it… it all began when the town had been attacked. He and several other kids had run off with some of the adults to escape the Grimm, those darn creatures prowling the wilds, who had attacked. The adults had left… and hadn’t come back. They didn’t hear a thing though, so he’d, at a young age, took charge and made the other kids keep quiet while they waited.

_“They’ll be back right? Maybe they just found something… they just got caught up with some Grimm, probably.”_

He wishes that had been the case now, because what they _had_ come across… well, it was worse now that reality had made it clear. Amid the silence of the night, and the scared kids crying or shuddering in fear, they’d been met by a group of men who didn’t seem to be from a familiar place. Soldiers, and among them a doctor, one who said he would take them in, keep them safe from those terrifying things, give them a new home in place of their old one.

If only… oh if only that had been all. Things seemed fine at first, from what he remembered. There had been at least twenty of them then. A warm place to stay, soft beds and good food… what more could a bunch of kids ask for?... well, that was when more and more kids began disappearing. They’d been told they’d been returned to their families. They had hope then, hope that with time, they’d get to go back to their parents to.

The crimson haired teenager found that thought laughable now. Eventually their number had gotten down to seven, and seven only. That was when he learned the truth of it all. He thought it had been his turn to leave… that wasn’t it.

Things had gone black after he’d been guided away. When he woke up, his body had ached all over, and he was covered in bandages. Many of the “scientists” had been looking him over when he woke up, and they had looked absolutely giddy that he’d woken up.

That’s where what he could only call hell began, for him and the other six children who had been left. Endless tests, being set to fight capture Grimm, having those scientists drill their heads full of inane information he hardly bothered to retain. The other six had fallen in line though. They’d given in, become what their “caretakers” wanted them to be.

But not him. He refused to do that. He _refused_ to give up who he was… and now was the time to prove it.

He heard the intercom crackle, and the voices of the two men above him reached through, his eyes training back on them.

_“The final test is ready to engage. Status on Wrath?”_

_“All biometrics green. Wrath is ready for his final test.”_

_“Good. Bring him in.”_

The two speaking men in lab coats both bore similar smirks as they looked down into the stark white chamber below them through the windows, one of the panels on the cylindrical wall opening slowly, revealing a figure stepping out, a figure stepping out with armed men behind him pushing him in.

“Yeah yeah you can cut with following me around. I’m used to the procedure already, geez.”

The one to exit was a very tall statured young man, towering above the scientists on the floor like a titan, built strongly and with a mess of red crimson hair topping his head, his features strong but slender like his build, his eyes a glittering emerald color, while his clothing was simply a loose white shirt and pants, though standing out where red wristlets just above fingerless gloves, as well as similarly colored anklets situated over the boots he was wearing.

“So, can we get this over with?” The young man asked, looking to the scientists in the booth as the door behind him shut, his eyes full of cold malice as he started at them, rolling his right wrist a bit.

“The test is already beginning, Wrath. Let’s see how far you’ve come.” The first of the two scientists stated, the boy clicking his tongue.

“The name’s Rowan.” The young man muttered, an eye shut as the gate opposite him opened up, a massive, four-legged machine lumbering out, four cannons making up its arms locking into a forward position aimed. “Time to get to work.”

Rowan cracked his knuckles and tilted his head, pops sounding as he then flicked his arms, mechanical whirs sounding as the wristlets and anklets expanded into full gauntlets and greaves, circular segments becoming visible that dimly glowed with a blue light. With another flick, added grips formed from the gauntlets, more sections expanding out to form blades, and such producing a pair of edged tonfas in his grasp. He dashed forward, quickly stepping in a swerve to avoid the drone’s cannon fire before kicking off the ground once he got close, the drone attempting to stomp him, Rowan rising above and pulling his right arm back, the circular segments on his gauntlet whirring as the glowed brighter, a bursting sounding as vents on the gauntlet opened up, propelling Rowan down and right onto the drone with enough force to dent the metal.

“One blow!” Rowan yelled, his left arm gaining it’s own glow as he then slammed it down, a keen sounding from the gauntlet as it impacted and the blade of the tonfa drove through the metal, another burst sounding as the metal on the head of the drone broke clear apart, the machine collapsing to the ground in a heap, Rowan standing atop the drone as he flexed his hands over his weapon’s grips, a small smirk showing on his face, “Five…”

“Incredible. He managed to defeat a spider drone in two blows, and he did it without compromising the machine to a critical level!” One of the scientists awed, then blinking when Rowan chuckled.

“Don’t count on it egg head. I’m a bit of a klutz like that.” Rowan stated, kneeling on the machine, knocking his gauntlets against his greaves, the glowing parts whirring faster and getting brighter as flames start flickering from the drone, “Four… three… two… ONE!”

Rowan slammed his feet down, bursts sounding as he was launched off the drone, the blasts from his greaves causing the machine to explode and propel him faster right to his target: The scientists behind the glass, impact shots from his gauntlets enough to shatter it, knocking one scientist to the ground from the force of the impact, Rowan skidding and launching off the wall to slam the other scientist to it, pulling a fist back as he kept the man pinned.

“H-How?! That glass should have been impenetrable!” The scientist gasped, Rowan smirking in return.

“Kinetic gauntlets and greaves, my weapon of choice. Doesn’t matter what it is, apply enough force and it’s bound to break!” Rowan threw his fist forward and knocked the scientist out right there, dropping the comatose body to the ground and ripping open the door, an alarm starting to blare as he ran into the hallways.

_“WARNING. WARNING. SUBJECT WRATH HAS BREACHED CONTAINMENT. ALL PERSONNEL RESPOND WITH LETHAL FORCE.”_ An automated warning began blaring on repeat, Rowan scoffing as he rounded a corner.

“Tch, like that’ll stop me! I’ve spent too long planning this!”

Rowan came to a stop when he rounded another corner, spotting a bunch of soldiers who immediately turned and trained their guns on the escapee.

“Command, this is Sigma Team, target located!”

“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me.” Rowan growled. His stance also shifted as he stepped forward, becoming lower, heavier in how he moved while shooting forward as the soldiers opened fire, slamming one in the gut with a spinning kick, carrying on his momentum to slug another in the face with a wide, heavy blow, flipping over the rest and aiming his now charged gauntlet at them, throwing his fist forward and back, a bolt launching and slamming the ground before exploding, Rowan landing and continuing his run as the soldiers fell around him, “Don’t have time for the cannon fodder!”

Rowan’s sprint through the halls continued relatively uninterrupted for a good way, the young man following the path along as he followed the signs marking the way, and when he came across a line of soldiers, he shot right through them all with a boosted punch than sent all five crashing to the floor, keeping up his movement and smashing through the door in his way, coming to a stop to find himself at a large foyer, slowing to a walk as he looked around the facility, which deceitfully enough looked like some kind of _normal_ lab facility.

“Yeah that’s flat lie… where the heck is this place located anyway?” Rowan went to a terminal and started inputting data into the keyboard to try and find his location, “Come on, at least give me a map so I can know what kingdom I’m in dammit.”

“Hold it right there!”

“Hagh… I seriously do not have time for this.” Rowan sighed, sliding his hands off of the console and turning see that he was surrounded by at least half a dozen squads of better armed soldiers, a few outfitted in high tech looking armor, in response to them, flicking his gauntlets back out into their tonfa form. “The kill squads… shoulda known.”

“You’re out of time Wrath. Come quietly, and we’ll only make your punishment as light as possible. Enough too… _remind you_ of who you listen to.” A voice that crackled on from the terminal spoke, Rowan looking back at it with a glare.

“I’m done doctor. Sorry, but I’m getting out of here! Good bye, you won’t be seeing me again!” Rowan curled his fingers and turned, spinning around and kicking one of the soldiers to the floor, ducking one of the armored soldiers, another barreling in and arm barring Rowan, the teen being knocked back and skidding to a stop, “Fine then… it won’t be long… but I’ll show you guys why I’m Wrath!”

Rowan’s body then gained a crimson, flame like glow around him as he stepped forward, a natural burst sounding as he shot forward, enough force behind him to damage the floor as he blitzed the soldiers in front of him, skidding to a stop as they went flying from the blows, dodging the two armored soldiers that rushed him, rising up and slamming the two, the armor denting from the blows as the attacked with a flurry of punches and kicks before weaving back when the other soldiers opened fire, firing kinetic blasts before he landed, throwing a few kicks and amplifying them by releasing the built up energy in the greaves, sending a swathe of soldiers flying, raising his arms as they fired at him, the bullets not even scratching him as his aura simply burned them away.

“The hell? Why aren’t they working?!” One soldier shouted.

“Doesn’t matter, he’s not moving!” Another of the armored fighters shouted, Rowan stopping his block and turning, smashing his fist into the soldier’s helmet, a keen sounding from his gauntlet again.

“Nice try!” Rowan shouted, releasing the blast and then grabbing the armored soldier as he fell, spinning the man around like a club to smash the next group of soldiers, the damaged armor users rushing him again, only to be met by a block and then one going down to an uppercut that shattered the bottom of their helmet.

“The hell… the docs never said anything about this!” The last soldier gasped as Rowan turned to him, going down from the smashing fist as it impacted their armor, Rowan left standing amid the bodies, some groaning in unconscious pain and others limp and unmoving, the aura around Rowan’s body dying down as he panted.

“Sorry… but you just didn’t have the luck of the draw this time.” Rowan scoffed, looking up as another one of the doors opened, “Come on… who’s here now, I’m so close!”

“Sorry Wrath, but you getting out of here isn’t on the list of priorities.” Another voice spoke as the owner entered view, another young man with dark hair, his face hidden by a dark mask as he brandished a pair of black swords, Rowan rolling his shoulders as he took a stance.

“Envy… of course that bastard would send you.” Rowan muttered, Envy scoffing as he spun a sword and pointed it at Rowan.

“Just so we’re clear, I don’t have any intent of bringing you back alive, even if the old man ordered otherwise. You always were too defiant for your own good.” Envy chuckled, Rowan merely sighing.

“There’s no point arguing this with you… so I won’t!” Rowan shouted, stepping forward and throwing a fist, Envy taking the blow and skidding back, chuckling as he stopped and retaliated, Rowan landing hit after hit with both punches and the twirls of his blades, the fight seemingly in his favor even as Envy stood his ground… but, it was also obvious Envy was purposefully taking Rowan’s powerful blows.

“Heh, did you forget what my Semblance is? Why keep this up huh?” Envy snapped, spinning a sword and going for a backhanded slash, Rowan ducking and showing a somber look as he rose up.

“Because no way in hell would I let you use it on me!” Rowan shouted, his gauntlet boosting as he threw a fist up, hitting Envy square in the jaw and stunning his foe as a pulse of red shot out, Rowan stepping forward and rushing Envy with a series of blows, spinning around and using a boosted kick to slam his enemy to the ground with a square blow to the head that knocked him to the ground and left him out cold, “Sorry, but I know how it works Envy. No way I’d let you stay standing for that long.”

Rowan deactivated his weapons as he returned to the console, sighing when it simply locked him out, going to the sealed front door and grabbing a spot on the metal, the screech of bending metal sounding as he started pulling the door open through sheer force.

“Don’t you leave Wrath! We will find you! There’s no hiding from Fenrir!” The man’s voice from before shouted, Rowan merely growling.

“Then I’ll just send you running with your tail between your legs!” Rowan shouted, ripping the doors open and right off, panting a bit as he kicked open the following glass doors, not looking back as he left while ignoring the voice that followed him.

He ran and ran until his legs began to feel like they would give out underneath him. Once he finally stopped, he found himself on a cliff side overlooking a city. The darkness of night gave way for a spectacular view to come from the lights that shown from the buildings beyond it, like a canvas below while above the star was spangled with stars.

“Where am I?”

“Well, I was wondering what was going on with that place out here. Who’d have thought that I’d find a kid leaving it though. Let me guess, you’re the reason behind that mess back there, eh kid?”

Rowan turned towards the gruff voice that had spoken, his eyes a bit wide as the owner stopped, the young man slowly nodding in response.

“Y-Yes… uhm… can I ask where I am?” Rowan inquired the man before him folding his arms.

“Of course. You’re in Vale.”

* * *

**_One year later…_ **

“And that’s how my first Grimm hunt went. Yes I am serious about the fact it was an Alpha Ursa.” Rowan snickered as he leaned back in his chair within the lunchroom of Signal Academy, the boy now garbed in clothes rather reminiscent of a martial arts gi mixed with street clothes, consisting of a red, hooded shirt and with fitted sleeves, the pants a dark grey, and sturdy shoes on his feet, though his weapons were left clearly visible against the outfit. He’d also changed some of his own stylings, such as his hair, being a bit longer and having a pair of black feathers pinned into the right side of the strands near his ear and a short braid on the left side that hung down near the side of his face.

Around him were fellow students from classes who were looking at him in variants of being wowed, almost confused looking, or, from the face of Azure among the bunch of students, somewhat in thought. For one, to them Rowan had been framing the story of his past like it was just that, a story he’d made up on the fly to entertain his friends here at school.

“Y’know Rowan…” said Azure of, leaning forward on the table while fiddling with his goggles, “Of _all_ the stories you’ve told everybody, that one was just kinda typical you know? I mean, weird, sure, but, it’s just another Grimm hunt.”

“Oh, and what was your first hunt like, eh Mr. Heir?” Rowan said with an amused tilt of the head, Azure giving a hum to the answer, his annoyed expression telling enough as some other students laughed a bit. All in good fun of course. Rowan then looked over the other students at the table, stopping in particular at a giddy looking teen with silver hair and violet eyes practically bouncing in his seat while _clearly_ trying his hardest not to just spout off. “Well Argent? Don’t keep holding your breath in, you’re gonna pass out if you keep that up!”

“It’s so cool sounding!” Argent shouted, waving his arms about. “It was like the opening segment of some high stakes action movie! I mean how the heck do you go from a free climb to stumbling onto an Ursa den? Cool, cool, totally cool!”

“Ahehehe, I says the Grimm expert.” Rowan said, laughing along as Argent just cackled, Azure rolling his eyes with an amused smile of his own. _“I prefer these peaceful days so much more. I’ve actually been able to move on… maybe I can just eventually forget about that damn place and the people form it. That’d just make things so much easier… I wouldn’t feel like it’s always looking over me.”_


	3. Cin

_Shadows usually hide those things we fear the most, and so, humanity seeks the light. But, for some, there are those with whom the shadows are more welcoming. If one is to face their fears and move forward, there may come a time when you must abandon the light and seek the shadows. It is only upon oneself to decide if their shadows are good or evil…_

* * *

“Just like the report said, at the docks. Which means the hostages should be inside that warehouse. Tch, to think the White Fang’s actually fallen so far as to take hostages. Well, I doubt Sienna actually knows about this.”

A figure standing atop one of the stacked containers let out a breath as they scanned the moon lit ground below, the faint blue light of the moon managing to illuminate them enough to make out the face beneath the hood of the concealing grey trenchcoat they wore, muted golden hair peering from the brim of the hood, the messy locks framing a thin, pale face marked by cat like blue eyes, the features hinting at a young man as they jumped across the containers.

“First off, point of entry… one of the skylights should be good.” The young man muttered, stopping his movement as he made it to the main warehouse, looking out over the dark sea, turning his back to the view and looking down through the skylight of the warehouse, drawing out a yellow colored pistol and flicking a switch, the weapon changing into a slim shortsword which he stuck in between the slit and slowly opened the window as silently as possible. He dropped through and to the stacked crates inside, peering out from behind one to view the gathering below.

The group wasn’t terribly large, around a dozen bodies, all garbed in the same white coats and white, red lined masks, the coats emblazoned with the image of a snarling wolf imposed on a ripping claw mark.

“Twelve, just like what they said. What about the hostages though? Where are they at?” With a small move, the young man moved back into the shadows, his body melding into them to the point he to vanish entirely. As he did, his vision also changed. The twelve men below became variously colored silhouettes that stood out even when they were behind other objects. And then he found what he was looking for.

Nestled between various containers were six other silhouettes. The hostages he was here to look for. This was too different. At another time, in another place, and when he went by a different name, this wasn’t how things were. The people he knew weren’t violent like this, they’d never have even thought to take hostages. But now?... now were they really acting any different than the animals they were trying not to be treated as?

The thought stuck as the boy melded out of the shadows, moving across the rafters towards where the hostages were. How did things get to where they are now? It all started somewhere, someone’s fall began a long time ago, and he didn’t know where. He knew the likely culprit… the same person he had a grudge against, the one he wanted nothing more than to get rid of so this world would be rid of at least one problem.

But that wasn’t his concern at the moment. The police couldn’t do a thing to help these people without causing an incident. His better judgement said this idea was stupid. It was reckless, and he had no reason to intervene. His morals said otherwise. People needed help. And if the authorities couldn’t do it because of red tape, then he would on his own terms. That was enough reason for him. People say old habits die hard, and he certainly hadn’t lost the strong sense of desiring to help others… only now the targets tended to be different than what they used to be.

What he found, gave answers. A cage of some kind had been made of moved aside storage containers. A nearby forklift that was obviously used to move the things around. The ”cage” was too high for the people huddled on the floor to try and climb out of. Were they one container high, then one of the taller ones among the hostages probably could. But even with that, they still had to contend with a dozen armed fighters. Escape wasn’t really an option.

“Hey? You okay down there?” The hooded boy kept his voice hushed as he moved into view of the people, and he pressed a finger to his lips as he dropped down. “Let’s not get too loud okay? Those White Fang guys don’t know I’m here. I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Oh thank god someone came to help.” A woman said, the boy nodding, looking among the group.

“Three men and three women… hey, what do you guys know about what happened? Why did these guys take you as hostages?” The boy knelt down as he spoke. one of the men, a posh looking sort in a ruffled suit, not to mention one hell of a black eye, cleared his throat.

“Those damn animals that claim to fight for their rights just jumped us. I was here doing business and these people here got caught in the mess… I suppose a brawl wasn’t enough for them, cause they found out I work for the SDC and they want a ransome… tch, idiots, I’m not that high up.” The man was clearly bitter as he spoke, the boy giving a hum.

“Schnee Dust Company employee? Makes sense with these crates. What about the girl over there?” He gestured off to the girl huddling near one of the women, the SDC man giving sigh.

“She’s… she’s a Faunus girl who tried to defuse things. Living in Atlas doesn’t always give the best impression but… dammit, what is with these damn White Fang? She’s one of their own… can’t believe they did that to her.” The man said. Surprisingly, actually. As far as the boy knew, Atlas people weren’t entirely fond of Faunus… maybe he’d been no different before. But… if that girl had tried to help even knowing the risk, perhaps he had a genuine change of heart.

“What did they do?” He moved over to the girl and the woman, the girl looking up at him, and he hoped a gentle grin would ease her. “Hey, I don’t wanna pry… he said you’re a Faunus. Did you really try to help?”

“Y-Yes.” The girl said, the boy looking at how her hands were covering the top of her head. “I just… I saw the trouble and I wanted to help. The man wasn’t doing anything wrong, he was just making a deal… sure the workers with him were Faunus, but they didn’t seem bothered.”

“Faunus workers? What happened to them?” He asked, the SDC worker giving a long sigh.

“They ran off during the scuffle.” The woman holding the Faunus girl said. “And then this poor girl stepped in… they hurt her bad. Pulled at her ears hard too.”

“Huh?” The boy lifted a brow, and tenderly, the Faunus girl moved her hands. It revealed that what looked like tufts of her brown hair were actually dog-like ears… and her hair was matted with blood at the ears’ bases. It looked like the injury would heal fine at the least… but the boy couldn’t stop himself from feeling his hands ball up tight enough for his nails to start digging into his gloves’ palms.

“Sons of… alright. Don’t worry, I’m here to help you guys. And if it’s a bit of comfort...” The boy removed his hood, white-fluff filled cat-ears rising from being pressed down on his head and twitching a bit as they rose. “I’m a Faunus too. Name’s Cin Branwen, and I’m a student at Signal. Huntsman-in-training. Beating the bad guys is kinda my thing.”

“What… you’re seriously gonna fight them on your own?” Cin nodded to another of the men as he spoke, raising his hood again as he stood straight.

“Course I am. A dozen or so White Fang foot soldiers isn’t a big deal. I’ve fought plenty of Grimm over the past four years. They won’t be any trouble compared to those. Until then, lay low and don’t make any noise. It’s gonna get loud for a bit.”

He got nods, and Cin reached into his jacket, pulling out another pistol. This one tipped in, rather than a knife edge, a small anchor. He fired it up at the rafters and reeled himself back up to them. Reaching under his collar and pulling up a muffler, Cin used it to cover the lower part of his face completely. He replaced the grapple-pistol for the same bladed one as before, also producing a second one in his other hand.

“Let’s get started.” Cin let out a breath, dropping down from the rafters and right into the shadows below.

Out away from everything else, the group of masked Faunus turned when they all heard a noise from the back, the leader, tilting his head forward. Perhaps, it was just their hostages being rowdy and making a noise again. Oh how wrong they truly were.

“Three of you go check it out!”

Three of the others nodded and moved off, drawing both guns and swords as they entered the rows of crates, splitting off through the paths as they were directed, and watching from the corners and shadows, Cin watched, melded entirely with the shadows, his ice-chip eyes barely visible in his melding in. They’d never see him even if they _were_ looking.

“It’s clear down here, let’s regroup.”

“It’s not as clear as you’d think.”

The soldier turned only to get kicked into one of the crates, his gun being swatted aside as he turned, only his mouth showing his expression as he was faced with Cin aiming one of his weapons right at his face in pistol form, the barrel like a gaping hole at his eyes.

“W-What the…” The soldier muttered, the hood wearer silently pulling the trigger of his weapon, a quiet crack sounding as the shot was fired, a black flash coming from the muzzle rather than a white one. Cin lowered his gun as he looked at the now limp body with a hole in its mask, though not a bit of blood was seen from it, looking to the left and right as he heard the sounds of the other two coming close.

“And there’s the trap.” Cin stepped back and melded into the shadows again, seemingly dropping away into the floor itself as he moved back, right as the two White Fang soldiers arrived. One of them checked the body, his form twitching in surprise.

“He’s not dead despite the hole… knocked out though. Whoever’s here isn’t playing nice despite that. How they hell did they get in?” The soldier muttered, pulling away from checking the pulse that was surprisingly still there, “Tell the… what the… where’d you go?!”

The soldier looked around when his comrade had vanished without a trace, freezing when a moment later, they seemed to come right out of the shadows, impacting the ground like a sack, the shimmer of an aura fading and a bulging bruise showing on the fallen one’s neck.

“It’s always fear that kicks in first when faced with the unknown. Doesn’t matter if you’re human _or_ Faunus. Or… some would say Faunus have it worse. We do have stronger instincts.”

The soldier turned, shock evident as Cin _rose up_ from his shadow, shrouded in black, making his blue eyes stand out like chips of ice piercing right through the man, stepping forward and grabbing the soldier, the only sound to follow being the man’s scream, but it was cut off just as abruptly as it began. But it did not go unnoticed by the remaining nine.

“The hell was that?” The lead soldier spoke up, then looking over the others, “Well? Go check it out!”

The eight others all rushed off with weapons ready, the first group to get between the crates immediately coming across the three fallen soldiers. They weren’t dead, even if their breathing was shallow… now it was becoming clear to them who exactly was responsible for this sudden mess.

“It’s… seriously?! It can’t be! It’s the Shadow!” And up above the soldiers, looming like a lion ready to pounce, Cin flicked a switch on his guns, the weapons shifting, the blades extending out rapidly into short swords, the soldiers turning as he pounced…

“AGGGHHH!!!”

“What the hell is that?!”

“Get out of there! The Shadows after us!”

“What the heck is going on now?!” The lead solder snapped, taken aback when only six soldiers ran out from the crates, following them being Cin once more, pouncing on the last soldier to get out, his blades slamming the man to the ground, one going right through his arm with the move he made, and he stomped a bit on the wound as he stood up.

“Sorry, but play time’s about over.” Cin said, flipping one of his weapons into pistol form, raking it along and shooting out the lights both before and behind him, his arm still as he stopped at the one just above him, one final pull of the trigger sounding as the final light was shot out, leaving only the dim moonlight coming in from the windows above to illuminate the warehouse, Cin vanishing into the darkness as the remaining White Fang looked around in a panic.

“Turn on lights! Find that guy! Anyone who can see well in the dark, find him!”

The soldiers all then turned on lights on their firearms, each one staying close in the open space as they scanned around, some flinching when they swore a shadow flitted by only for it to vanish just as quickly. And while the soldiers clustered together, Cin had swung up onto one of the railings above, a line reeling back into one of his weapons. He swapped out to his normal pistol, the end of one extending as the other folded, both being locked together to form a rifle. Cin then attached a scope to the weapon as he also spun on a silencer, aiming down the sight with careful precision as he laid down on the wide rafters, aiming right at the group up soldiers, his finger hovering carefully over the trigger.

“Normally I’d be going for kill shots… but this situation is a bit different.” Cin let out a breath, swapping the magazine he had loaded, cocking the rifle, and pulling the trigger without a moment of hesitation, the soldiers below jumping as one of their number fell from the clean shot, a broken shimmer across his body. Two more went down before Cin split the weapon and swung down, carrying the momentum from the swing to kick one of the others and stop himself, swinging one of his swords into a reverse grip and blocking the leader as he attacked with a larger blade, merely scanning around as the remaining two brandished their own weapons.

“Heh, out of the dark now! You’ve got nowhere to hide!” The leader snapped, Cin simply scoffing as he kicked him aside.

“You say that, but there’s only three of you left. I’ve got no reason to hide to finish this.” Cin responded, flipping the sword around, ducking the one who rushed him and slashing with both weapons, the soldier falling to the ground, getting finished off with an axe-kick to the head, “Sloppy… is this seriously the best Adam can get his hands on?”

The two remaining soldiers looked at each other, opening fire at their enemy. Cin slipped away and fading into the darkness of the dimly lit space, dashing back in from behind and disarming his enemies of their firearms, kicking the leader aside and slamming his knee into the second one’s chin, firing a shot at point black to leave him sprawled like the others. Which left only the leader standing as he recovered from the previous blow.

“Tch… you don’t play around. Surprised you’re not killing anyone this time, Shadow.” The leader muttered, the boy scoffing.

“I learned a long time ago that mercy isn’t something you can just hand out. And the only reason I’m not is to find something out once you’re all nice and hog tied.” Cin flipped his blades from straight-holds and into ice-pick holds, and even this bumbling soldier could see the weapons were actually _meant_ to be held that way. Which meant that Cin had been holding back on them.

“Tch… son of a bitch!” The soldier charged at Cin, waving around his sword wildly. Cin used one blade to parry and the other to strike, flipping one into gun form and firing multiple shots, the man’s Aura breaking quickly from the point blank strikes. Cin didn’t let the chance pass up and shot forward, driving his elbow into the man’s gut, following up with a rising kick that slammed right into the soldier’s face, and the Grimm mask was sent flying off from the blow as the man was lifted into the air and then flopped down onto the ground.

“For a dozen guys that felt a bit _too_ quick… whatever, not done here yet.”

A few minutes later, Cin had bound up and gathered the twelve White Fang members and tossed the bunch of them into a pile. His mask was still on, his hood still up, so when the now maskless Faunus stirred awake, they saw naught but stray strands of gold hair and those icy eyes bearing the slightest of glows in the now dimply lit warehouse since the emergency lights had kicked on.

“Wha… w-we’re alive?” One soldier muttered, Cin nodding, kneeling down to look the leader in the eyes.

“Yeah. I’m not about to make things harder on the police than need be… but I do have a few things to ask. First off, who was it that pulled at that girl’s ears? Frankly you’re lucky they’re gonna heal up without issue… still, anyone who knows enough, would know Faunus ears hurt easy.” Cin drew out one of his pistols as he spoke, looking over the twelve Faunus. “Well? You’re already tied up, and I tossed your weapons into a corner. You don’t have much of a choice, because I’m also ready to call the cops about any time now. So just save yourselves the trouble and tell me.”

“Oh shove it you damn human! What’ll you get out of that anyway? What, beat twelve of us and help one? Talk about laughable!”

“Ah right… I still have my hood on.” Cin reached up and lowered the hood, his cat ears standing up, the White Fang soldiers suddenly looking horrified. “See, here’s the irony of this situation right now. I’m a Faunus whose life was sent on one ridiculous downward spiral by the White Fang. So… which of you guys did it?”

“And what’ll you do if we do tell you huh?”

“Find out for yourself.”

“Tch. Fine, it was me and him!” One Faunus cockily spat, jabbing at the other near him, who _immediately_ got a worried look. “That bitch should’ve known better than to try and help some SDC bastard! So we went for her ears! If she was a real Faunus…”

“Shut up!” The other snapped, shouldering the other as Cin walked over to them, and the cock of his gun got both to flinch.

“That is quite a line to say.” Cin remarked, a wry but angry smirk under his mask, aiming his pistol at the first one’s face. The moment was silent as the man stared down the barrel, and if one looked closely they could see Cin’s arm shaking from suppressed rage… but at the last moment as his finger pressed down on the trigger, he aimed downwards and instead shot the man in the leg, a howl of pain coming from the Faunus as he fell back. Cin let out a long breath and steadied himself, his cold glare turning to the second Faunus, who immediately tried to shuffle back in fear. “Relax… I’m gonna leave you sick bastards to the cops… but, I wanna ask something.”

Cin made a point to shove the still hot barrel of his gun under the chin of the leader, the Faunus yelping in pain from the heat.

“W-What?”

“Where can I find Adam Taurus? You could say I’ve got a debt to repay… so, mind telling me where you lot are actually camped out?”

“Tch… like we’d tell the damn Shadow about that!”

“Y’sure about that?” Cin moved the gun and fired to the side a few times, pressing the now much hotter barrel back where it had been, eliciting a sharp yell of pain. “Next time I’ll actually shoot something. I’d also like to know what he’s been up to.”

“Telling where the camp is would be useless!” The Faunus snapped. “They keep… they keep moving it around based on what our goal is but… a few months ago… we joined up with some woman. A human woman!”

“What? Why the hell would Adam join a human? He hates humans.”

“It wasn’t by choice… this bitch is powerful.”

“Hm. You got a name for her?”

“Bite me!”

And then the gun was pressed into the man’s thigh.

_BANG!_

“AGGGGGHHHH!”

“Try again.”

“Cinder! Her name’s Cinder!”

“See, now how hard was that?” Cin stood up and holstered the gun in his coat, pulling out his Scroll. “Hope you’re ready to answer the questions of the cops.”

* * *

It was quite some time later. The cops had since arrived on the docks along with medical teams. The White Fang members were being loaded into vans, while responders were checking the condition of the former hostages. The Faunus girl had been patched up, bandages on her head where her ears had been pulled. And thanks to her stronger eyes, she was able to spot Cin lingering off in the shadows, his hood up but mask down.

He turned to leave, but the girl hurried over and grabbed him by the sleeve, Cin turning around as he stopped.

“U-Uhm… thank you.” The girl said, Cin giving a small huff.

“It’s not that big of a deal. But, I know that for you it is. Next time, try not to jump into a dangerous situation like that. At least, if it looks like you can’t handle it.” Cin said, then sighing to himself. “But not like I’m saying you did the wrong thing. More people need to know this Human versus Faunus issue is a two-way road.”

“It is a problem… when did things go wrong with the White Fang though? They were peaceful a few years ago.” The girl said, Cin sighing again.

“If you wanna point the finger at someone, point it at Sienna Khan. The policies she has just drive certain types of people to get worse and more extreme.” Cin said, pocketing his hands. “But, I wouldn’t dwell on that too much if I were you. Just try to do right by people, and they’ll do right by you.”

“Of course!” The girl nodded, then shuffled a bit. “Also uhm… my name is Auburn. I work at a Faunus run shop not far from here. If uh, you need some help at some point, feel free to stop by!”

“I’ll do that depending on how things go. And again, the name’s Cin Branwen. Later.” Cin pulled out his grapnel gun and zipped off as Auburn waved him off, and once he’d reached a rooftop, he stopped and looked up to the moon, letting a breath go out. “First Adam then that… how powerful does this Cinder woman have to be to make _him_ agree to work with her? Tch… where does Blake stand in this now? I wonder if Adam finally went to far for her to stomach anymore.”


	4. Argent

_Even amid the darkest of shadows, a light, no matter how small, will find a way to flicker to life. Even if the darkness may try to smother it, the light will continue to flicker, it’s sparks spreading and growing until it has turned into the brightest of flames._

* * *

“So Argent, mind telling me _how_ you heard about this “job” you dragged me into? The fact we’re trekking out into the woods does not bode well!”

Azure muttered as he cut aside more underbrush with his single edged blade, ahead of him, one of his few friends at Signal giving a laugh. The boy’s name was Argent, and he was the very reason Azure now found himself trudging through the woods at the outskirts of Vale when he would have much preferred to be spending the afternoon fine tuning his weapons.

“It’s part of the adventure! Besides, it’s not often our board gets requests about Pantheras!” Jumping back into view from ahead in the brush, Argent’s silver hair was the first part of him to come into view, following that being his bright violet eyes. For a Vale resident, Argent’s skin was rather tanned, enough that when compared to his bright silver hair, it was rather stark. Said hair was styled in a messy, spiky way that left it sticking about all over the place, with some styled bits around his eyes. He wore a military styled grey jacket with a hood stitched onto the collar, while a black cloth was wrapped over his left arm and allowed to hang rather loosely, held in place by a pair of black straps and a black epaulet and the straps were buckled by a metal wolf-head emblem. Covering his legs were dark grey pants with armored knees, combat boots, and black fingerless gloves. Around his waist was a belt that held a few small magazines, likely for the weapons holstered on both sides of his hips, while most notably, crisscrossed on his back were four more sheathes for different blades, all folded up into more convenient carrying forms though one in particular stood out thanks to it’s heavy looking rectangular guard and red-wrapped two-handed hilt.

“Yeah, we usually don’t because those contracts are saved for pros.” Azure said, Argent chuckling as he continued forward.

“Ah c’mon dude! We’re some of the top of the class at Signal. Besides, the contract said it was wounded and weak. Students of our caliber can definitely handle it. Especially since we learned extra tricks from Qrow y’know?” Argent remarked, the boys reaching a clearing, both beginning to look around for any signs of their potential prey.

“I’m just saying.” Azure replied, stabbing his sword into the ground as he palmed at the base of some shrubs, sniffing the air a bit, making a bit of a disgusted face. “Kinda pungent don’t ya think?”

“That would mean the Panthera went hunting.” Argent said, rubbing some dirt between his fingers before looking off, heading off in a new direction. “When injured, Panthera get ornery and tend to go after local fauna. It could be because Grimm actually can eat food or just for spot, but that’s not super clear. As far as we know they don’t. But, let’s see… aha! Look here Azure, on the tree!”

Argent went over to a tree, and from it he pried off a deer’s antler, Azure giving a hum as he looked it over.

“That’d take a lot to rip off, much less leave it stuck in a tree. Definitely something a Grimm could do.”

“And that means we’ve got a trail.” Argent said, looping the antler onto his belt, then drawing one of the small blades at his hips, driving it into the tree and carving a mark, which he’d been doing periodically since they started this trek.

The silver haired boy was definitely a hunter. Of all the things he was knowledgeable of, the Creatures of Grimm were at the top of that list, right next to how to fight them. Not a trace he couldn’t follow, a method he couldn’t think of to disable it and tell others. A leader he may not be but a strategist he certainly was. If you wanted something found, Argent would find it without any trouble at all.

Some would ask, why? Why did he desire to know so much about these creatures? It wasn’t mere curiosity, that was clear enough. It was more like he behaved exactly like the hunter he sought to become… it wasn’t just a desire to know more, but a desire to _understand._ After all, the more a hunter knows about their prey, the easier it is for them to track it. What do you have to fear of monsters that you know everything about? Turn the hunters into the hunted… perhaps that was the thing he sought from this.

“So where do you think it’s den could be? Though I doubt it would have run back off to it. Would’ve been taken care of if that was the case.” Azure spoke as the two reached a small ravine dividing the woods, Argent kneeling down at the lip of the small ledge, palming at the dirt, looking around for any possible hints. “Hey, Argent, down there. Tracks.”

Azure pointed into the ravine, and narrowing his eyes, Argent was able to see the imprints in the ground. Argent jumped down and checking the prints, a smirk coming to his face as he rubbed at them. The glint in his eyes became excited.

“Perfect! They’re kind of old, but it’s definitely gonna lead us there. And look at the size.” Argent circled his finger around the print, Azure joining him and looking. “Looks like our Panthera isn’t small either. Fully grown from the looks of it. And there’s a rut nearby. Likely the body of the deer.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re _scary_ good at tracking things?”

“Many times Azure! Hehehe, come on, let’s rush it!”

With a nob, Azure followed after Argent when his friend dashed off, the two running along the ravine, jumping past the rocks that acted as obstacles with practiced ease, moving up from the ravine as it began to edge away to shallow slopes and to a line of cliffs, the two students slowing their pace as they followed the natural wall, Argent keeping his eye on the trail at all times so they wouldn’t lose it. Eventually, the tracking led the two to a cave, both taking spots at either side of the entrance.

“I’ll take a look.” Azure pulled down his goggles and turned them off as he peered to look in the cave, scanning around. “Roomy that’s for sure and… ugh, geez! If that smell was bad before, it’s outright terrible now! Grimm really do only hunt other animals for sport!”

“Ugh, I am _so_ showering when this is done. If we can smell the carcass from _here_ then that’s gonna cling.” Argent muttered, Azure nodding as he pulled his goggles back up. “Well, no point waiting around right? On we go!”

“Uh, Argent I would…”

_Crrraaaa…_

“WHOOOOAAAA!”

“… be careful… shit! Argent!”

“It’s aight! I’m good!” Argent had found himself sliding down into a place deeper into the cave, and he could see Azure leaning down the lip, the light leaving Argent visible. “Yo! I’ll go and check deeper. Find something to get me back up while I’m down here, alright man?”

“Are you nuts?”

“No, I’m cashews.”

“NOT THE TIME!”

Argent only cackled as he turned and ran off, Azure’s exasperated yelling echoing behind him. Once the cave began to darken the further in he went, Argent flicked his left hand out. With that motion, silver flames flickered into life in his palm, illuminating the walls and creating dancing shadows across them. Argent sniffed the air as he walked along, giving a hum.

“Definitely going the right way. I wonder, what’d make a Panthera drag a carcass back to its cave? Grimm don’t _need_ to eat animals as far as anyone knows. Hmmm… gonna have to note that down. Tch… god this smell is unbearable.”

Argent plugged his nose with his free hand as he continued along. The air was growing more and more stagnant by the moment. As he moved on, the cave began to open up, and he killed the flame in his hand to bring darkness down, pulling out his own pair of goggles and putting them on, a press to the side activating night vision.

“Hehe, gonna have to thank Azure later for whipping these up for me. Guy’s one hell of an engineer. Even if they’re in a buggy beta phase.”

With the better vision from the goggles, he was able to see how far the cave actually went. The space was surprisingly open, and a few parts of the wall gave way to completely black voids, other entrances into it at the least. In the spacious room was a few spread out, fly attracted deer carcasses, wounds long since dried out and left to rot. But no sign of the Grimm.

However, Argent knew that was what it _wanted_ him to think. He remembered it from an excerpt in the good old _Bestiary of Grimm._ “Pantherae are solitary creatures. Normally living in prides like lions, led by an adult. If the rest of the pride is killed then no doubt the mature members will seek revenge, but, Pantherae are not fools. They are quick to run in order to lick their wounds if sufficiently injured. Beware following one into it’s den though, as it could be anywhere, and it _will_ know you have arrived.”

“So then, where are you hiding.” Argent pulled out both of the short blades at his hips, flipping one of the weapons around as it folded out, and with one, he took it and threw it, a ring sounding as it drove into the stone. When that elicited nothing, Argent aimed at another spot and threw the other blade, another ring sounding as it dug in. In the same moment, his hands shot back and grasped two of the folded weapons at his back, drawing a pair of identical blades, one edge straight and another serrated, clearly made for slashing as the swords lacked an actual point at their tops, instead being angled, giving a vague trapezoidal look to the swords.

Argent let both edges sit on the floor, producing audible scraping sounds as he walked out into the center of the room, and as he came to a stop, he raked one sword up, pulling it hard enough that sparks flew from the contact point before he brought it up. A pointer for Pantherae, they have sensitive hearing, so loud noises are perfect for disorienting them… or drawing them out.

A low growl began to fill the space, a smirk coming to Argent’s face as he turned to the source of it. From the shadows of one of the exits, a red glow of eyes began to show, and stalking out from the shadows was a being seemingly made of shadows itself. Its large, feline body came with heavy steps, a shadowy mane marking it’s pitch black body. Covering its body was a bone-like carapace, marking mostly it’s head, spine, and legs, and the face bore red markings.

Argent took a step back on purpose as the Grimm began approaching. He took both blades and drove them both into the stone, the Panthera growling as the sound pierced its ears. Not missing the chance, Argent’s right hand went for the red hilted-weapon. As he pulled it out, gears could already be heard turning as the blade of the weapon shot out. From the wider half of the blade, a thinner portion made up the other half, forming a solid sheet of metal aside from the transition zone.

The Panthera lowered down and lunged, Argent moving his sword and blocking its talons, the massive creature pushing him back quite a ways. But, as he came close to it, Argent shot up onto the wall, vaulting off and slashing. The blade cut into the Grimm’s hide, causing a black mist and ichor to seep from the fresh injury.

The Panthera’s tail whipped at Argent as he sailed over, Argent drawing the last weapon he had to take the blow as his back was to the tail. While still sent careening off elsewhere, Argent rolled and landed as the second blade extended. It was a rather odd blade, while its single edge was solid, an actual look at it revealed the blade to be hollow, giving it a V shape from within it.

“Okay, single blade isn’t gonna help me. Perfect.” Argent chuckled as he took the hollow blade and shoved it onto the main sword in his hand, clicking noises coming from the wide guard of the main blade as the hollow blade was locked in. When the Panthera lunged again, Argent dove past, grabbing one of the serrated swords as he shot past, turning back around and pulling the blade across the Panthera’s leg when the beast turned on a dime and lunged at him again. As he finished the motion, Argent then looked the sword above the hollow blade, adding a back edge to the assembly.

He then dove for the twin sword, but the Panthera got between him and it. Argent gave a chuckle as it growled at him, and as he brought his left hand up, silver flames grew at his fingers, and once it was level as the Panthera charged, the flames shot from his hand in a stream. The Panthera crashed to the ground as it roared, the flames licking at its body. Argent found the window to grab the other sword as the Panthera crashed into the wall, locking it to the other side of the sword, now setting it on to all being a much larger, heavier blade.

“Alright, good enough without the side blades.” Argent grabbed the hilt with both hands now, the Panthera growling even as the silver flames continued to lick at its fur. The roar that came from the beast shook the cave, Argent standing his ground, this time charging himself. The beast’s claws met the edge of the blade, only for it to come that the sword cut right through the claws, leaving messy, ichor bleeding holes in the Panthera’s paw.

The creature howled, it’s hind legs both striking at Argent. He wound up taking the hit head on, being sent reeling back, and actually hitting one of the deer carcasses only tripped him up, sending him to land back-first onto the wall of the cave after rolling across the floor. Conveniently though, right next to one of the daggers he’d thrown. A smirk coming back to his face, Argent grabbed the blade out of the wall as the Panthera jumped at him, the blade changing form into a large handgun. Argent aimed the gun quickly and fired, bullets perforating the Pantheras chest. He dove to the side as the Panthera refused to cease it’s charge, crashing to where he’d been, while Argent changed the gun back into its blade form and placed it on the side of the assembled sword, leaving only one more slot on it’s opposite side. Deciding not to miss even a beat, Argent shot to the side, finding where the remaining weapon was dug into the wall.

But his foes was intent not to let him forget it was there for even a moment. Even with one its paws rendered downright useless beyond batting at things, and with it’s belly seeping ichor, the Panthera lunched again with its maws open. Argent was much smaller than it after all, only of average height for a boy his age, and the Panthera was bigger than a bear. One bite to the neck and it’d be over… the fault though, was the fact the Grimm wasn’t smart enough to remember those flames. Argent glanced back as the beast lunged, flames rising from both of his hands and up the edge of the sword. With a hefty swing of the heavy blade, the flames raked up and engulfed the Panthera, the swing catching the beast by the mane. The sword was able to cut right into the tough fibers, going far enough to actually catch the beast’s neck, the full swing slamming the Panthera into the ground with a burst of fire following it.

Argent stumbled back as bit as he wrenched his sword out of the mane, stepping back to the remaining dagger and yanking it out of the wall. Staying cautious with it since the Panthera was still rumbling even as it burned. Ichor ran down the edge of his sword as he approached while changing the dagger into its gun form. Not surprisingly really, the Panthera lashed out in one last, desperate slash with its claws. Stumbling back, Argent aimed his gun and plugged the Panthera with every bullet loaded into it, the Grimm finally going totally limp with one more gurgle. As it finally died, the Pantheras body began shuddering, but not with movement, as if its very form was starting to vanish. The shadowy form of its body then faded into the ground like evaporating sludge, only leaving behind it’s carapace and other effects.

“I’ll be taking that. Good fuckin’ riddance.” His voice absolutely dripping with contempt, Argent holstered the weapon in his off-hand and picked up the “mask” from the carapace, setting it onto his belt, starting the process of disassembling and holstering his assembled blade as he turned to leave the cave, and he was about halfway back through the tunnel he’d come from when he heard footsteps. Removing his goggles as light also came on back, Argent smirked as Azure came screeching to a halt, his fellow Signal student panting as he stopped. “Yo Azure! I got the kill!”

“Yeah, and you look like you got hit by a truck.” Azure said, Argent happily showing off the “mask” he’d looted.

“Ah come on, quit sniping. I only took a few glances and one big hit. My Aura wasn’t even broken, so that’s alright in my book. That and my trusty sword took the harder hits from the thing. I almost got to fully assemble it this time to boot!” Argent took the lead as he playfully put the “mask” over his face, doing a faux roar. “Hahaha, scary eh?”

“No, it’s stupid looking.” Azure smirked at Argent, the other teenager lifting the “mask” and sticking his tongue out.

“Whatever. Time to go and collect!”

“Y’know Mr. Taiyang is gonna grill you for this one, right?”

“Pff! We’ll just bluff him and say we took it on together, it’ll be fine!”

“… I highly doubt that.”

Of course it was the moment they reached the entrance that their joking banter went cold. A man was leaning up against the entrance, his eyes looking at the two in a glare with nothing but the intent to do as Azure guessed and give them the lecture of a life time. A chuckle came from the man as the boys both gulped.

“And look at this.” Taiyang, one of the teachers of Signal who personally mentored the two, folded muscled arms as he looked the teenagers over. “I was wondering why that Panthera contract went missing… honestly at this point I’m not surprised. Why do you two always have to do the dangerous ones?”

“You were saying?” Azure muttered, Argent putting his hands together and taking in a long breath, then lowing his hands together but still having them forward.

“So what happened was…” Not like starting his reasoning with _that_ was going to save Argent from the lecture that was to come. But hey, at least he was trying. He didn’t really care anyway. He was just glad he’d killed that Grimm, so as far as he cared, it would be worth the hour long lecture on why he _shouldn’t_ have done so.


	5. A Crow and A Rose

“So no thanks to that map, I know where Torchwick is gonna hit next. Hmph, hope this information was right.” Azure closed his Scroll as he looked down from the rooftop he was seated on, his eyes on the only Dust shop open at the late hour, though his attention was drawn away for a moment when a crow came and landed just next to him, the corvid looking right at the silver eyed boy rather closely before flitting off again, “Hmph.”

Azure’s attention went back to watching the shop and streets, the young bounty hunter standing up and raising his hood when he spotted an approaching group of men in black led by a man in a fancy white coat and bowler hat, carrying a cane tucked under his arm, the man being Azure’s target, Roman Torchwick. He could only assume the thugs were the poor schmucks Torchwick hired to replace the guys he’d beaten the other day.

“About time.” Azure hummed, skirting down from the fire escapes and to the shadows below, keeping an eye on Torchwick and his hired goons as they entered the shop, drawing his weapon as he watched through the windows as the goons started looting the Dust crystals, though as Azure was about to burst into the shop, one of the windows was blown wide open, Azure catching a glimpse of red before it turned out to be a girl, standing from having sent a goon flying, her weapon unfolding into a massive scythe, though Azure was caught when her eyes became visible as she twirled her weapon around, striking silver, just like his own… and he also felt an immediate sense of surprise at seeing her too.

The rest of the goons then ran out, Azure skirting back when the girl immediately acted, the way she fought with her scythe being a style Azure found reminiscent of someone else he knew, the four goons not lasting long, though the last one to go down from the rapid slashes was sent flying towards Azure, who kicked the goon away and nearly into Torchwick as he walked out from the shop, glancing over and smirking as he saw the hooded Azure, then looking to the girl in red and the goon at his feet.

“You were worth every cent, truly you were.” Torchwick sighed, taking the cigar he had out of his mouth, dropping it to the ground and snuffing it with his cane, “Well, Red, I think we can all say it’s been an eventful evening, but, as much as I’d _love_ to stick around...” Torchwick lifted his cane at the girl, the bottom opening into a targeting sight, “I’m afraid this is where we part ways.”

The shot that fired from the cane roared forward like a firework, the girl launching into the air to avoid the shot that left a sizable crater in the street, Azure going for a slash only for Torchwick to smirk and fire again, Azure lifting his arms, growling and shooting off, then halting and blocking the girl’s scythe as she reacted on instinct to him rushing forward, Azure glancing at her with a notably annoyed look, the girl blinking when she saw beneath the hood, Azure’s eyes standing out just enough from the shadow it cast.

“I’m on your side kid… wait, Ruby?! The heck are you doing here?!” Azure said, the girl withdrawing her weapon, still looking somewhat stunned.

“Azure?! I could be asking the same thing about you! Hey wait where’re you going?!” The girl yelled, Azure clicking his tongue and already dashing off as Torchwick made his way up to the roofs, Ruby following as Azure nimbly flipped up from the fire escapes, both skidding to a stop at the top, gravel kicking up at their feet, Torchwick sighing as he kept his back to the two.

“Nowhere to run Torchwick, and there’s no point fighting, you know how it ended last time.” Azure spoke, aiming his single-edged sword at Torchwick.

“Oh well if it isn’t Blue! My my, how did you find out where I was going to be this time eh?” Torchwick stated, Azure giving a scoff.

“Let’s just say your boys weren’t that good at cleaning up.”

“Well looks like _now_ I know who to blame for making me have to go to Junior!” Torchwick laughed, then pointing his cane at Azure and Ruby, “But you were right Blue, there is no point fighting, so I won’t even bother!”

Azure and Ruby raised a brow, both taking steps back when a standard airship rose up from behind the building, the air whipping around from the roaring engines and knocking Azure’s hood off his head, Torchwick hopping into the vehicle and facing the two pursuers, pulling out a red Dust crystal.

“End of the line you two!” Torchwick shouted, tossing the crystal forward and aiming as the crystal landed on the ground right between Azure and Ruby, firing a shot that _seemed_ to impact, laughing as the dust shot up.

But, Torchwick’s seeming victory was not to be had, as a new arrival had appeared before the silver eyed teenagers, a bespectacled woman wearing a cape and wielding a riding crop, a purple circle of light fading as she lowered the item, Azure letting out a dejected sigh as the woman looked back at the two behind her, letting out a small huff and adjusting her glasses, one swing from her riding crop sending forth dozens of purple beams that rocked the airship, Torchwick retreating further in, the woman letting out another light that formed a storm cloud above the now retreating aircraft, one swipe downwards unleashing spikes of ice on the ship, rocking it again as it was turned into a metal pincushion.

Azure then took the initiative and switched his left hand sword to it’s gun form as he slapped a clip into its side, aiming at the ship as the weapon then edged with flecks of ice as the weapon as fired, though a new figure came into view and stopped the bullets dead with ease, Azure growling while the new figure, clearly a woman, smirked upon seeing him, a move of her hands launching a bolt of fire that Azure retreated from, while the glasses wearing woman deflected it, amber colored energy scattering on the ground, the three on the roof leaping back as gouts of fire exploded from the marks.

“Come on…” Azure growled, the caped woman glancing at him before swiping her riding crop again, the shards from the roof gathering and forming into a spear like construct that shot towards the ship, the tilting vessel stopping major damage, but the attack continued as the construct split into three and circled around, a burst in the air coming right from the new enemy and obliterating the shards. Ruby then switched her weapon into a sniper rifle and fired, though like with Azure the bullets were blocked, their enemy swiping her hand and glowing circles forming, Azure rolling forward while the other woman pulled Ruby forward as pillars of flame shot up behind them.

And when the three recovered, the ship was already leaving, Azure letting out a growl, but as he was about to give chase, he was grabbed by his hood, yelping as he landed right on his tailbone, grimacing from the sudden jolt of pain as he looked back, receiving a stern glare from the woman’s emerald eyes.

“What the hell Glynda?! I was going after them!” Azure snapped.

“No, Mr. Aquarion, you are not giving chase. And it’s Ms. Goodwitch to you, young man.” The woman retorted, keeping a tight hold on Azure’s collar as she dragged him to his feet.

“You’re a Huntress!” Ruby gasped, aweing as she looked at the woman, Azure and Glynda glancing at each other as the girl giddily shook about, “Can I have your autograph?!”

* * *

Not less than half an hour later, Azure and the girl, Ruby Rose, who _happened_ to be a friend of his from Signal Academy, were both seated at a table in the local police station, both waiting for Glynda to return after having dropped them both there.

“Well this night sucks! I was finally onto a lead but no! I end up caught by the one person who scares the crap out of me, just friggin’ great!” Azure grumbled under his breath, tapping his fingers on the chair.

“Azure, what were you even doing out here that late? Well, okay actually, more like why were you after that Torchwick guy?” Ruby said, Azure looking to the side. “Hey come on! I know Uncle Qrow has you do extra curricular stuff and… oh my god is _this_ what you two have been up to?!”

“What? Noooo! Why the hell would Qrow be dragging a kid into a hunt for a…” Azure muttered, giving a sigh, unable to keep up the façade as Ruby started getting into his face. “I’m a terrible liar, I know.”

“Yes you are Azure.” Ruby said, tapping her senior on the shoulder. “So… what do you think is gonna happen now?”

“I do not know. I mean hey you’ve always talked about wanting to meet a real Huntress so, hey, bright side… even if Glynda is freaking scary.” Azure joked, Ruby snickering.

“Yeah but _you_ seem to know her. What are you not telling me huh? I know your family is famous and all but it’s not fair if you keep stuff from your best friend!” Ruby faux whined, Azure breaking out into laugher and putting his head on the table, though all joking stopped when the door opened. Azure and Ruby looked forward when Glynda entered once more, keeping a stern look on the two teens as she paced around, looking at a data pad in her hands.

“Let’s see here…” Glynda sighed, “Azure Aquarion and Ruby Rose. I hope you two realize your actions tonight will _not_ be taken lightly. You put yourselves and others in extreme danger.”

“But they started it!” Ruby objected, rather childishly though.

“I was tracking a dangerous criminal and I would have had him if you hadn’t stopped me! Was so freaking close on that lead of mine too.” Azure voiced his own objections, falling silent when Glynda glared at him.

“If it were up to me, Ms. Rose, you’d be sent home with a pat on the back…” Glynda started, Ruby looking hopeful until the riding crop almost smacked her hands, “And a slap on the wrist! And as for you, Mr. Aquarion, well, frankly I’m worried about _what_ you’d do. Perhaps I’ll just let your father deal with you.”

“So I guess that explains the handcuffs, right?” Azure quipped, raising his arms to reveal his wrists had indeed been clamped by police issue handcuffs.

“Those were so you wouldn’t get any funny ideas.” Glynda replied, not even bothering hiding the fact Azure was being kept restrained, “But… there is someone here who would like to meet the both of you.”

“It’s Ozpin isn’t it?” Azure sighed, lowering his hands to the table as his expression turned to an annoyed scowl, Glynda stepping aside, the door opened with a push, an older looking man entering, his gray hair standing out despite still looking relatively young, and he looked at the two teens behind low hanging, dark spectacles, a plate of cookies in one hand and a coffee mug in the other.

“Ruby Rose, and Azure Aquarion.” Ozpin stated, looking closely at the two by leaning in, specifically, looking at their eyes very carefully, “You both have silver eyes.”

“U-Uhm…” Ruby murmured, Azure letting out a long sigh.

“So, where did you learn to do this, Ms. Rose?” Ozpin asked, gesturing to the video feed playing of Ruby’s earlier fight, clearly captured from the area’s security cameras.

“S-Signal Academy.” Ruby answered, Ozpin setting the plate of cookies down, and to Azure’s annoyance, pulling out the folded-up shield and sword and the holstered secondary weapon, setting them on the table.

“And _these,_ Mr. Aquarion. A customized Assault Blade, and then this one.” Ozpin pointed to the sword/shield. “This one is rather unique… both would be serviceable on their own, yet you use both. Interesting choice in fighting style. Who inspired you to do that hm?” Azure looked to the side, his expression clearly saying “I don’t have to answer that” and how he was trying to ignore Ozpin, the man humming and then looking back to Ruby, “And they taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapon types made?”

“Well, one teacher in particular. He taught both me and Azure actually.” Ruby answered, a _thunk_ sounding as Azure’s head dropped onto the table. “What?”

“I see.” Ozpin hummed, pushing Azure’s weapons to the side and sliding the plate closer to the teens, Azure again showing he was still cuffed before moving his arms back under the table, Ruby however, only taking a moment before she began wolfing down the treats. “It’s just that I’ve only seen one scythe wielder of that skill before, a dusty old crow…”

Ruby then attempted to speak, but the mouthful of cookies muffled her words and sent crumbs everything, Ozpin arching a brow, the girl swallowing and chuckling nervously.

“Hehe, sorry!” Ruby apologized, “That’s my uncle Qrow! He’s a teacher at Signal. I was completely _garbage_ before he took me under his wing, and now I’m all like hooooo, watchaaa, hwoooo!”

Azure could only blink as he stifled an amused chuckle at Ruby’s sounds and movements.

 _“Frickin dork.”_ Azure thought, Glynda looking at him with a suspicious eye, the teen only giving a whistle.

“And what’s an adorable girl like you doing at a school designed to train warriors?” Ozpin asked, leaning on the table.

“Well, I want to be a Huntress.” Ruby stated, Azure glancing at her as he rubbed his hands.

“You want to slay monsters?” Ozpin asked, glancing at Azure, gesturing with his head as if to say “You might want to listen to this.”

“Yeah!” Ruby answered, “I only have two more years of training left at Signal, and then I’m going to apply to Beacon. See, my sister’s starting there this year, and she’s trying to become a Huntress! I’m trying to become a Huntress because I wanna help people! And our parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, eh y’know, might as well make a career out of it, hehe! I mean the police are alright, but Huntsman and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and ahahaha y’know?!”

“Cute.” Azure hummed.

“Do you know who I am?” Ozpin asked.

“You’re Professor Ozpin, the headmaster at Beacon.” Ruby answered.

“Hm, hello.”

“Nice to meet you.” Ruby politely nodded, Ozpin showing a small, amused smile.

“You want to come to my school?” Ozpin asked, Ruby nodding.

“More than anything!” Ruby answered, Ozpin glancing at Glynda then back at Ruby after the woman merely sighed with a nod.

“Well okay.” Opzin answered, Ruby’s expression changing to a wide grin, Azure sighing as she started shaking him in excitement.

“So what about me, why the heck am I sitting here handcuffed huh? Glynda mentioned my dad and, well… that’d be awkward.” Azure asked swiping away the giddy girl’s hands, Ozpin drawing his attention back to the young man.

“Yes well, about that.” Ozpin stated, tapping a few things on the tablet he was holding. “I contacted him earlier and he filled me in he’s actually well aware of this situation that let’s say you’ve… been in for the past year since you returned.”

Azure flinched a bit, Ozpin clearing his throat.

“Ms. Goodwitch, could you take Ms. Rose outside? We need to keep this conversation private.” Ozpin said, Glynda nodding and gesturing for Ruby to follow her, the girl waving as she was led out, Azure gesturing to her, then looking at Ozpin as the door shut. “Let me see again… a year ago now Qrow found you on the outskirts of Vale. You spent a week in the hospital to recover from the injuries you’d incurred, and then near immediately transferred into Signal. Not to mention several cases of “extracurricular” activities.”

“Qrow’s told you a lot, hasn’t he? And apparently my dad as well.” Azure murmured, then leaning back, now spinning the handcuffs on a finger, having since freed himself from them, Ozpin sipping from his mug. “So?”

“Let me just say you’ve found yourself caught up in one complicated situation… one you don’t necessarily need to be involved in yet.” Ozpin said, Azure giving him a look. “But I see you won’t simply be swayed from that easily… though I’d say an interrogation room in a police precinct is no place for us to discuss such things.”

“If that’s big of a deal then what’s actually the deal huh?” Azure said, tossing the cuffs aside and sighing when Ozpin didn’t even so much as change his expression. “And where do _you_ think a better place to be asking me these things would be?”

“Rather simple actually… at Beacon Academy. I mean we do already have the filled out application.” Ozpin pulled out a stack of papers and set them onto the table, and Azure’s eyes widened when he saw the stamp marked on the front page, one marked in a crescent moon emblem… his family’s personal seal.

“When the heck did that happen?!” Azure yelped, grabbing the papers. “I mean I wasn’t denying the idea but…”

“You haven’t seen your parents in six years.” Ozpin said, Azure resisting the urge to smash the paper without trying to. “It came in not that long ago with the seal put on it. Besides, I believe Beacon will be a good place for you to refine those skills of yours. Your father is actually going to start teaching there come the second semester… and considering your family’s special, let’s say traits, it’d be a prime chance for you both.”

“What and drill me for questions about all kinds of things related to this past year?” Azure muttered, Ozpin just drinking more coffee. “Or should I be a bit more precise and say five years before last year?”

“I suppose you could say that.” Ozpin said. “So, how about it? Will I be seeing you at Beacon?”

“Uuughhh.” Azure hung his head as he sighed. “Well… I do have friends who are gonna be going there.”

"Then I'm happy to have you." Ozpin showed a small, satisfied smile. Azure just let out a grumble as an eye twitched. He may not have been against the ideas as a whole, but this kind of situation being what even led up to it just wasn't sitting quite right. But, it was the better option, so he may as well not look the gift horse in the mouth, right?

* * *

“And now I’m here.”

Azure sighed as he looked down at Vale from the window of the airship he’d been hauled onto along with tons of other students going to Beacon, putting a hand over his eyes after scanning the crowd.

“That’s where you went!”

Azure sighed again and lowered his hand, glancing over to see Ruby approaching, putting a hand on his hip.

“We’re on an airship, were could I run off too?” Azure replied.

“Yeah but Ms. Goodwitch told me to keep an eye on you. She told me you’re diligent and crazy enough to try jumping from an airship to get away.” Ruby stated, Azure’s eye twitching.

“Okay I’m not _that_ crazy… geez.” Azure corrected, Ruby shrugging. “Besides, Glynda doesn’t trust me as far as she can throw me! I’m not gonna run anyway… don’t have a reason too.”

“She mentioned something about not trusting you because of your dad… and that Uncle Qrow trained you. Still, this is so exciting! I can’t believe I actually get to go to Beacon with all of you!” Ruby chuckled, Azure shrugging. “Oh come on, be more excited will ya? Think of all the fun we’re gonna have since our little gang isn’t gonna be broken up!”

“Yeah Argent’s been bugging me about the Beacon thing for months now…” Azure muttered. “Least now he’ll be quiet.”

“There you are sis, where’d you go?” The blonde asked, the noticing Azure just behind Ruby. “Oh hey, sup Azure!”

“Hey Yang.” Azure waved, Ruby chuckling.

“Obviously nowhere, just finding where he went off too. Last night was… busy.” Ruby said, Yang immediately shooting a look at Azure.

“She doesn’t mean anything weird Yang, geez. I was out doing something Qrow asked me to and, well, we ran into each other.” Azure was effectively telling the truth, half-way. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Hmm, whatever. Still…” Yang then gave Ruby a crushing hug, the younger girl yelping. “My baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!”

“Please stop…” Ruby choked out, Azure laughing behind a hand.

“But I’m so proud of you!” Yang said, stepping back and bouncing a bit. “I told Cin as soon as I could, but the darn grump didn’t even react beyond his usual muttering. You know all that “Well I saw that coming” and the other stuff he spouts.”

Yang’s impression was comedically gravelly and deep, and from behind her, a certain shadow appeared, tapping the blonde’s shoulder and making her yelp.

“First off, I sound nothing like that. Second, why would I be surprised? Since Qrow’s trained her from scratch of course Ruby is better than everyone else in her year.” Cin melded back into a normal look, Yang huffing as the Faunus boy casually leaned on a leg.

“You’re such a killjoy bro!” Yang then headlocked Cin and started rubbing her fist between his ears. “C’mon, show some excitement for the little sis!”

“ _Please_ stop grinding your knuckles there!” Cin tried to wrench himself free, but Yang was too strong for him to do that, Azure just watching and giving a chuckle.

“I still have a hard time believe that Qrow has a kid.” Azure mused, Cin scoffing as he was finally released, fixing his hair.

“Adopted kid.” Cin corrected, his cat ears twitching, then he palmed Ruby on the head and gave a snicker. “Still, rumors do fly fast. It’s already flying around about the prodigy from Signal who got accepted early.”

“Yeah it’s totally awesome! Don’t ya think Ruby? Everybody thinks you’re totally special!” Yang said, the younger girl just giving a sigh.

“I don’t want to be a prodigy!” Ruby said, stamping a foot. “I just want to be a normal girl who’s nothing special!”

“To be entirely fair there’s gonna be a lotta competition once we actually get there.” Azure said, Ruby shoving him aside when he just chose to randomly pop up. “I kinda maybe sorta managed to sneak a look at the list of incoming students, and Pyrrha Nikos from Mistral is actually gonna be coming here.”

“WHAT?! You mean that super talented girl who’s already won a ton of tournaments?!” Ruby said, Azure nodding. “Coool!”

“Well that’s setting a high bar for us first years off the bat.” Cin noted, then peering behind Azure. “Also, might wanna looking behind you Azure.”

“Eh?”

“Azzuuurreee brrooooo!”

“Oh shit…”

_WHAM!_

Azure was within a mere moment tackled to the floor of the airship when Argent came barreling in from the crowd, the dark-blue haired young man feeling dazed as Argent yanked him up.

“What the hell man?! On the fence about Beacon for months and then you just join up out of the blue?” Argent heartily slapped Azure on the back, knocking the boy out of his daze. “You left your best buddy hangin’ something bad bro!”

“Yeah uh… that’s all very complicated… ow, I think you broke something.” Azure hunched over a bit as he held his chest, Cin, Yang, and Ruby all chuckling.

“Pah you’ll be fine! I mean I ain’t like Rowan. If he tackled you I’m sure it’d _definitely_ break something.” Argent smacked Azure on the back again, the other teenager sighing. “But hey, it also means the whole gang’s here! Actually, where did he… hey Rowan! Get over her man, I found him!”

It’s not like one could say Rowan was _at all_ hard to find, because the moment the crimson haired young man stood up, he immediately came to tower over much of the crowd. The boys also gave Yang a telling look when the blonde gave a grin that was more than _just_ friendly… which Ruby seemed more than a bit oblivious too.

“Heyo guys.” Rowan greeted, then patting Azure on the back himself, nearly knocking him over in the process. “Hahaha, see what’d I say Argent? Told ya’ Azure would come around.”

“I think you cracked something Rowan…” Azure muttered, now holding his back, Rowan putting a hand behind his head.

“Uh, sorry dude.” Rowan said, looking down when Yang suddenly slid up to his side. “Uh, hey Yang.”

“Hey big guy. Been a while since we last met huh?” Yang said, Rowan counting on his fingers.

“Pretty sure we last saw each other a couple hours ago at Signal.” Rowan’s remark got the other three boys to slap a hand to their foreheads in total synch, though Yang only looked amused. “But, well, it’s cool that Ruby’s coming here too.”

“I know right! My little sis is just the best!” Yang went to squeezing Ruby again, the girl in the hood flailing to attempt to pull herself free before she was let go. “Well, I’ll be off for a minute, gonna go find my other friends. Chat with you guys later! And hey Rowan, let’s spar again once we get the chance!”

“And there she goes.” Ruby said, folding her arms.

 _“The robbery was lead by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department.”_ A sudden news report got everyone to turn to a projected screen and listen in, and Azure very notably looked annoyed at that, Ruby glancing at him as Azure’s left eye started twitching. _“Back to you Lisa!”_

 _“Thank you Sirol.”_ The report then changed to a woman, and the image on screen changed to footage of Faunus carrying signs in protest, and Cin’s own look went sour as his arms folded, his fingers tight on his arms. _“In other news this Saturday’s Faunus civil rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the proceedings. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted…”_

Before it got too far, and likely for the best as Cin’s face was showing some barely contained rage in it, the image dropped, and in place of it, a hologram of Glynda rose up.

 _“Hello and welcome to Beacon.”_ Said Glynda, and Azure didn’t have a doubt this same message was going to all the other ships carrying the rest of the students just entering the school. _“My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have been selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsman and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task. And now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world.”_

“Don’t let that fool you, Glynda is terrifying.” Azure muttered, putting a hand behind his head. The chatter of students started back up again at the time, and Argent just put an arm around Azure’s shoulder as he chuckled.

“Ah but look at the bright side my main man! We’re gonna be at the damn best Huntsman Academy around! Not to mention us four hotshots here were Signal’s Big Four! We’re gonna be the talk of the campus!” Argent had gestured to Rowan and Cin as he spoke , and was also palming at the Panthera talon he had looped around his necklace. And as a particular kind of grin went to his face. “And with a lot like us around, imagine all the girls that are gonna be flockin’ towards us! Especially you Azure, Mr. Heir-Apparent-to-the-dang-Aquarions!”

“I’m not really looking for romance at the moment.” Azure muttered, moving Argent’s arm off of him.

“Oh boy here he goes again.” Ruby murmured, Cin sighing as he put a hand over his face.

“But it’s four years man! Four years of things to do all over while we work to become pure badasses!” Argent said, Rowan leaning on a leg as he hummed.

“I mean it sure sounds fun, but is now really the time to be looking for dates?” Rowan said, and when Argent gave a high pitched snicker, Cin then took the initiative to cover Ruby’s ears, to the younger girl’s confusion.

“Au contraire my tall friend! This is Beacon, and I’ve heard it’s a _very_ stressful school. Hehehehe, I’m sure there’s gonna be plenty of late night, _training sessions!_ Bow chicka bow wow!” Argent cackled, Cin releasing Ruby’s ears and promptly smacking Argent upside the head.

“Never say that again.” Cin bit with an audible snarl, Argent chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Hey man, I know my timing. If a double meaning is heard, I shall be there to punctuate it! Besides it’s honestly true. Betting pool now, how many of us will still be virgins by year four?” Argent chuckled, Cin glaring at him.

“You’re the worst kind of person you know?” Cin muttered, Ruby just tilting her head.

“Ah please, there’s a difference between being the worst and appreciating a good dirty joke. And besides, we’re all adults here, so why not have some adult humor fun eh?” Argent snickered.

“We’re only seventeen moron. And I’ll remind you of the fifteen-year-old as well.” Cin growled, pointing at Ruby, who was now trotting off elsewhere. “Whatever.”

“I mean being seventeen we are legal, so Argent’s not exactly _wrong.”_ Azure pointed out, shutting his right eye. “But again, ain’t looking for romance… much less that. I mean if it happens it happens I guess.”

“Sooo! Who wants to make bets?” Argent said, looking around the others, sighing when they didn’t gve a word. “You guys suck. Oh yeah, hey, teams form in the first year right? What if we ended up on a team together eh?”

“I’m pretty sure they’re chosen at random… I think.” Azure said, humming in thought. “I know there’s a practical test after orientation… maybe we’ll form teams then?”

“Cool! So, potential team names!” Argent declared.

“You lost me during that last bit, where are we?” Rowan asked, snapping back from having zoned out while looking out the window, Cin sighing.

“The lunk head is coming up with hypothetical team names now… this is gonna be a long ride.” Cin grumbled, covering his eyes. “Why are we even talking like we’re actually gonna be on a team? It’s all random chance.”

“I mean you never know.” Azure added.

“ACAR (Acer)!” Argent declared, Azure slapping a hand to his face.

“Not a color.” Cin retorted.

“CAAR (Car)!”

“That’s a vehicle! And stupid!” Cin snapped.

“RACA (Rocker)!”

“Still not a color.” Azure said.

“RAAC (Rook)!”

“I don’t think that would work either.” Rowan quipped, Cin slapping his forehead.

“CRAA (Craw)!”

“Not even a word!” Cin snapped.

“CARA (Chara)!”

“NOT A COLOR!” Cin and Azure shouted at the same time, Argent cackling.

“This is gonna be an interesting four years… hehehe.” Rowan chuckled, Cin and Azure continuing to shoot down Argent’s attempts at a name as he kept going.


End file.
